What Does Hamstring Pain Feel Like?

Hamstring injuries can be felt at the back of the thigh -- it feels like a sharp pain and it comes out of nowhere. One second you feel fine, the next you’ll be wondering what happened as you try to shake it off.

Assessing the Damage

You might be able to judge how severe your injury is by how much it’s limiting your activity level and, of course, the intensity of the pain. Hamstring strains or tears are usually given a grade of 1 through 3, with 3 being the most serious.

If you only have a grade 1 injury, congratulations, you’re one of the luckiest unlucky runners. Yes, it sucks you have a hamstring injury, but the good news is that you’ll be back in your workout clothes in just a few days.

If it’s extremely mild pain, you might be able to continue running, but cut back on your miles. Don’t try to be a hero and cause yourself further damage.

Grade 2 is where things start to get a little more complicated -- it means your muscle has a partial tear. Your recovery is going to take a bit longer.

But, if you’ve reached grade 3, you’ve completely torn that muscle, and it might take you months to recover.

You Only Have One Body, So Take Care of It

It can be tempting to shrug off the pain and head back out on your favorite trail or street, but if you’re suffering from hamstring pain, take some time off to make sure you’re fully healed before you resume running.

If taking one week off feels agonizing, imagine how awful you’ll feel when you have to take a month off because you’ve turned a small problem into a much bigger one.